Public health officials in Boston kicked off last fall’s back-to-school season with a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic aimed at combating the large racial disparities in vaccinations among young children. Local news reported that hundreds of Bostonians turned out to the event, creating a line “further than the eye could see” through the city’s Franklin Park. […]
health disparities
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
Medical Racism’s Role in the Recent Spike in Maternal Mortality
The coronavirus exacerbated the effects of medical racism already baked into the United States health care system, leading to a spike in Black maternal mortality rates between 2020 and 2021, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals. The recent statistics, though bleak, come as no surprise to maternal health experts, who […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
Can the Increase in Higher Education Diversity and Inclusion Efforts Solve Health Disparities?
As a young girl, Shaunessey Burks remembers walking up to the plant where her grandfather worked. Pierced in her memory were the fumes radiating from inside the building, where no one was wearing protective equipment. There was no barrier between her grandfather and the hazardous chemicals floating in the air he was breathing. Years later, […]
Posted inDangerous Deliveries, Health
Black Women Are Losing Access to Maternity Care. This Law Is Partly to Blame.
Capital B’s “Dangerous Deliveries” investigation examines the uneven distribution of maternal care deserts and poor birth outcomes in Georgia, one of the most dangerous states for childbirth. Read the full project here. CUTHBERT, Ga. — Shayanna Alford called 911 when her water broke. She lives in this quiet town of 3,000 people, tucked in the state’s southwest region. […]
Posted inDangerous Deliveries, Health
Haunted By Trauma: The Black Parents Who Nearly Died In Childbirth
Capital B’s “Dangerous Deliveries” investigation examines the uneven distribution of maternal care deserts and poor birth outcomes in Georgia, one of the most dangerous states for childbirth. Read the full project here. Georgia is one of the most dangerous states in which to give birth, and as the number of people who die remains high, so does the […]
Posted inDangerous Deliveries, Health
The Story Behind ‘Dangerous Deliveries’
Capital B’s “Dangerous Deliveries” investigation examines the uneven distribution of maternal care deserts and poor birth outcomes in Georgia, one of the most dangerous states for childbirth. Read the full project here. Awareness of the United States’ maternal health care crisis has been growing. Lawmakers have been campaigning on bold policy change aimed at reducing the number of […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
Air Pollution and its Impact on Black Communities, Explained
Across the country, pollution has drastically declined since the 1970s because of the Clean Air Act’s expansion, but the health impact of dirty air is still widely felt. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is associated with 7 million premature deaths annually, with nearly 200,000 of those happening in the United States. The […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
The EPA Moves to Limit This Pollutant That Hurts Black People Disproportionately
Dail Chambers knows when the air is unsafe in her North St. Louis neighborhood. It’s when the sky “looks like a 1970s film,” she said. “There’s an orange haze over the whole neighborhood for weeks at a time.” The haze is a mixture of air pollutants anchored by a high concentration of fine-particulate matter, sometimes […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Environmental Justice
In Brooklyn, Public Housing Tenants Struggle Against the ‘Slow Violence’ of Industrial Pollution
This story was published in partnership with The City. Sign up for their newsletter here. Elisha Fye jokes that he was a member of the “true little rascals” while growing up in the New York City Housing Authority’s Cooper Park Houses in North Brooklyn’s industrial corridor. The expansive 700-apartment housing project was erected in 1953, and Fye’s […]
Posted inCulture, Sports
Damar Hamlin’s Collapse Shows the Elevated Risk for Heart Failure Among Black Athletes
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is awake and responsive three days after he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on an NFL field mid-game. The 24-year-old’s breathing tube was removed overnight, the team said, and he’s writing on a clipboard to communicate. Hamlin FaceTimed with fellow players and their coaches Friday morning, saying “Love you boys,” […]